


Meeting Millie

by Thatonegothynerd



Series: Teaghan and Team Goth [1]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-31 11:12:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19424809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thatonegothynerd/pseuds/Thatonegothynerd
Summary: It's been two years since The Scarred disappeared without a trace and life has gone on, easier for some that others.The first meeting of Teaghan is a bard and performer at The Maverick Minstrel and one night she sees a girl she just knows she can help.





	Meeting Millie

Teaghan had never seen the strange pale girl in The Maverick Minstrel before, and she would have remembered someone like this. She was sitting quietly in a corner, the drink her friends at the bar had bought her sat on the table in front of her. It wasn’t her clothing that made her stand out in the crowded establishment, her clothes were covered in lace and black as night and though not overly dressy, still had an air of expensiveness and hand tailoring and the rose choker that hung around her neck was stunning. It wasn’t her makeup, black kohl encircled her eyes in an elegant way, expertly applied, and her lips were perfectly onyx. It was her expression that Teaghan would have remembered. It was perfectly neutral, so balanced and blank, yet there was something in her grey eyes that wasn’t quite there. A light was missing. Teaghan knew that look. She had seen it in her own eyes once before while she left her sisters in peril traveling hundreds of miles away from them. A look that she sometimes saw if she thought too hard about the past, about a mother taken far too soon, a father that wanted to control her and terrified her more than anything, and three young girls, scared out of their minds that she could do nothing to protect. 

When the Goliath student told Teaghan this girl, so empty inside, was a friend of The Scarred, it only solidified what she was already determined to do, bring some semblance of life back to those eyes. A song is what had been requested of her, and though she would have done the task for free, when the Goliath handed her five gold pieces she wasn’t about to say no. The song he requested was one of her favorites: The Ballad of The Scarred. It told of a group of adventurers, well more accurately mercenaries, that had fought away a terrible group of orc and other unsavory creatures at the Battle of Turst Fields. It was a favorite of Teaghan’s for many reasons: firstly it was about a varied group of adventurers, all of whom had unique traits and strengths. Secondly, it was a fast paced song the crowd always enjoyed with an infectious chorus that made even sober Teaghan want to raise her glass to The Scarred. Third, and most importantly, The Scarred had saved her family in that battle. It was a reminder to her that there were good people out there that would save people when she could not. Her sister, Daphne, had written her after the battle about how scared all three girls had been and how they were saved by Gnolls, the guard, and a group known as The Scarred. Teaghan felt as if she owed them for everything they had done for her, and the one way she had to help them was to sing their praises across the city, so everyone knew the name The Scarred. 

As she started to sing, Teaghan slipped into her role as performer naturally. She had always loved people and loved seeing smiles on their faces. Getting the crowd to follow her clap, slow at first to start the song off, filled her with a sense of such joy. Her alto voice, so loud and strong for her tiny frame, rang out clear and powerfully. When the chorus came around, the entire tavern was singing with her. “The Scarred! The Scarred! Raise a drink for The Scarred! The Scarred! The Scarred! Raise a drink for the Scarred!” She felt the smile on her own face as she sang their praises, to Avarice the Beauty, to Kel the Shadow, to Dragomir the Butcher, and to Peony the Glamour. She sang with her entire heart and the crowd mirrored her enthusiasm. Only when the song ended in thunderous applause did she look back at the strange sad girl and saw tears welling up in her eyes. In a heartbeat, Teaghan was off the stage and headed towards her. 

“Hiya!” Teaghan said by way of greeting, “My name is Teaghan! You’re Goliath friend requested that song. He said The Scarred were friends of yours.”

The strange girl started at her for a moment, confused by her forwardness and energy, and then nodded in response. 

“Wow that’s so amazing!” Teaghan said. “They’re heroes of mine, well not just mine but of a lot of people, but they’re my heroes specifically. I owe a lot to them.”

A moment passed again as the girl examined her. “Why?” she asked in a quiet and monotone voice.

“Well that song was about how they saved Turst Fields and that’s where my family’s from - where the rest of my family lives. I wasn’t there when the battle happened, but The Scarred was and they saved them. They kept my family safe for me.”

“I was there for that,” the girl replied.

“Really!?” Teaghan said, eyes going wide.

“I didn’t fight in the battle, but I was there.”

“That’s amazing! I would love to hear all about it, and them, and you. What’s your name again?” Teaghan asked, knowing full well she never said it.

“Millicent,” she said.

“Well, Millicent, it’s very nice to meet you,” Teaghan said, smile widening on her face.

Millicent didn’t respond, she just continued to stare at Teaghan, but that didn’t bother her one bit. There had never been a silence Teaghan couldn’t fill.

“If you don’t mind me asking, Millicent, what happened with them? I haven’t heard anything about them in over a year,” Teaghan asked. 

Millicent hesitated before answering, her eyes growing more distant as she finally spoke. “They’re gone. But they’re coming back.”

Teaghan saw the look on Millicent’s face and understood immediately. Her family was gone, that’s what this band of heroes was to her - family- and she didn’t know when she would see them again. It was a feeling she understood all to well.

“Of course they are! I just hope they don’t get into too much trouble in the meantime. Or maybe they should, that makes for a better story,” Teaghan watched Millicent’s far away face as she spoke, hoping to get her expression to change, but it didn’t.

“It never gets easier,” Teaghan said, her own gaze shifting slightly, “It’s tough to be away from the people you care about. But they give us a reason to push forward. The people we miss, they keep us going.”

Millicent’s focus returned to Teaghan as she spoke, tears welling up as she tried not to cry. Teaghan’s smile had turned softer and knowing. She had been away from her family the past 4 years with only a few letters to keep her updated on how her sisters were doing. Silence hung in the air for a moment between the two girls who it seemed understood each other better than they had imagined. This time, it was Millicent that broke the silence. 

“You were good up there. The song was nice,” she said in the same monotone, but Teaghan knew the compliment was genuine.

“Thank you!” Teaghan said, smile turning bright once again. “I play here almost every night, if you want to come back again. Like I said, I want to know more about you Millicent.”

“I might just do that,” Millicent said, and Teaghan could have sworn there was a spark in her eyes that hadn’t been there before. It wasn’t the lightness that Teaghan hoped she would see, but there was a promise in them that a light could return, would return to her.

“Good. I’ll see you soon then, Millicent,” Teaghan said as she headed back to the stage to start another song for the crowd. 

....

Millicent watched the smiling girl head back to the stage, her tangled chestnut mane bouncing as she stepped, her gap-toothed smile luminous on her freckled face face. She would come back to the Maverick Minstrel, despite the fact that she disliked the crowds, despite the fact that it took her away from her research, research that brought her closer to Kel. Millicent promised she would come back to see that girl - Teaghan - because despite her neutral expression, for the first time in the two years since Kel left, Millicent felt like she could smile.


End file.
